Kids Right to Know

Kids Right to Know seeks to inform youth about their right to make informed, healthy, and environmentally sound choices, with a focus on the need for proper testing and labeling of genetically modified food. By inspiring youth to care, protect, and take action, we seek to make the world a better place for humans, animals, and our planet.

Project Description

Mission

Kids Right to Know seeks to inform youth about their right to make informed, healthy, and environmentally sound choices, with a focus on the need for proper testing and labeling of genetically modified food. By inspiring youth to care, protect, and take action, we seek to make the world a better place for humans, animals, and our planet.

Rachel’s Parents Bio

This is not your average teenage girl. She’s not drawn to designer labels. She’s drawn to food labels. At 11 years old, Rachel began researching for a school project and became alarmed by what she learned about GMOs. This gave her the spark to become an activist fighting for our right to know what’s in our food by making GMO labeling a law in Canada. That spark evolved into what’s now known as Kids Right To Know, a not-for-profit organization that she founded to inform the public, especially other children, about food safety.

In 2013, CBC’s Kevin O’Leary suggested on one of the episodes of the Lang and O’Leary Exchange that people who stand against GMOs should “stop eating” so we can “get rid of them.” Rachel was outraged, and challenged him to a debate. O’Leary agreed, and the resulting debate was posted on YouTube, raising awareness about GMOs through over 2 million views in less than two months, along with countless national and international media.

A Toronto high school student, Rachel has since become a media veteran with dozens of television, radio, magazine and online interviews under her belt. She has been a featured speaker at a variety of events including the Planet in Focus Environmental Film festival, The Green Living Show, Total Health Show, TEDx Toronto, WE Day, the Uplift Festival in Australia, Sonoma Valley Heirloom Expo, Toronto Veg Fest and Vancouver Veg Expo to name a few. She has been acknowledged as an Emerging Leader by the The Clean50 Summit in Toronto, named one of Toronto’s Environmental Heroes by Now Magazine, recognized as one of the Seven Kids Saving the Planet Right Now by ELuxe Magazine, and included in Canada’s Top 20 Under 20 Change Makers by the National Post.

Throughout this journey, Rachel has been fortunate to meet and work with world leaders in the food safety movement, including Dr. Gilles-Eric Séralini, Dr. Vandana Shiva, Dr. Shiv Chopra, Dr. Thierry Vrain, Dr. Bruce Lipton, Jeffery Smith of the Institute of Responsible Technology, and Dr. Jane Goodall. Collectively, they are raising awareness about the risks of GMOs and motivating millions to ask questions and take action.

In 2014, Rachel’s speech at the TEDx Toronto conference resulted in a resounding standing ovation and a highly trending discussion on Twitter. Shortly after, she was featured in a television series about GMO labeling that was aired on Global News National, the result of which awarded Rachel a meeting with the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Canada’s Minister of Health. Kids Right To Know had been heavily campaigning to make this happen for over 12 months. This marked a huge victory for the organization and an important chapter in the non-GMO movement for Canada.

Her momentum continued and she was back in Ottawa that winter to meet with 2 top ranked officials from Health Canada. Rachel asked them a long list of questions regarding food safety assessment, GMO labeling, and the GM Arctic Apple—which was in process for government approval.

Directly after that meeting, she went straight to Parliament Hill where she held her second press conference at The National Press Gallery. Here, she reported back to the nation what she learned from Health Canada, sharing the podium with Member of Parliament Murray Rankin, Health Critic of the Official Opposition.

Later that day, she was the guest of honour at the Parliamentary Restaurant, meeting with several Members of Parliament from across Canada, including Tom Mulcair, Leader of the Opposition. All were enthusiastic in supporting Rachel’s crusade of making GMO labeling a federal law, a motion in which Murray Rankin has put forward to the House of Commons as M-480.

In April of 2015, she was given the honour of her inaugural role as moderator in a panel discussion between world-renowned primatologist and activist, Dr. Jane Goodall and celebrated Canadian artist and activist, Robert Bateman.

Rachel continues to research, educate and motivate others in schools and public events around the world in the name of transparency and choice. Various chapters of her journey are shared via her blog found on the Huffington Post Canada website.

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